Kiss the Girl
by StormWolf10
Summary: Sequel to 'To Be Inspired Or Run' and 'Everything Is Ending'. The Doctor, Rose, Jack and Jackie head to the Planet Barcelona to try and help Rose recover, but will Rose finally be ready to hear the Doctor say those three little words?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get this story up, but I'm in the process of moving to my step-Mum's in the summer, meaning I've been packing everything up, and I think I may have thrown the plan out while we were packing :L**

"Ah!" the Doctor announced as he stepped out the TARDIS, arms spread wide, and a grin on his face "Barcelona!"

Behind him, Jack and Rose slipped out of the TARDIS, Jack looking around eagerly while Rose quickly moved to stand beside the Doctor, watching the strangers carefully. Jackie was more reluctant to leave the TARDIS, and had only poked her head out of the door.

"Why's everyone so… _Orange_?" Jackie asked in a stage-whisper.

Several aforementioned orange people glared at Jackie and hurried on their way. Jack merely chuckled at Jackie's embarrassed expression.

"Can you try being a little more subtle during our stay here, Jackie?" the Doctor asked, rolling his eyes.

However, the Time Lord didn't see Jackie's responding glare, because his attention was now focussed on Rose, who was gripping his arm and looking around nervously.

"You alright?" he asked her gently.

Rose nodded distractedly.

"Why don't we go find a café, yeah?" the Doctor suggested "We can sit down for a while and you can take your time getting used to being outdoors before we go to the market."

Rose nodded again, and Jackie's eyes gleamed.

"Market?" she echoed excitedly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jackie and began leading them down the street.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Here we are!" The Doctor announced with a grin as he set the tray on the table.

As the Doctor handed the mugs out, Jackie wrinkled her nose slightly.

"Wha's this?" she asked the Time Lord, glaring at her mug as if it were a Slitheen.

"It's the Barcelonan equivalent of tea," Jack answered before the Doctor could reply.

"But it's purple!" Jackie protested, wide-eyed.

"Mum, jus' drink it." Rose groused quietly, already sipping at her own bright purple beverage.

"What if it's poisoned?" Jackie hissed in panic.

"Jackie," the Doctor told her, fighting the urge to roll his eyes- he had to remember that Jackie wasn't used to this- "I wouldn't give you anything that could harm you. It's perfectly safe for humans."

Jackie still looked unconvinced, but after staring warily at her mug for a few more moments, took a sip. She was pleasantly surprised, and it tasted much like that herbal tea Howard had picked up for her down the market. The mug was soon empty, and Jackie placed the mug back down on the tray. Looking up, she saw that the Doctor, Jack and Rose had also finished their drinks, and were watching the passers-by. Rose was gripping the Doctor's hand tight, eyes slightly wide and breathing slightly laboured. Just then, Jackie squeaked, drawing her legs up. Quickly glancing under the table, she was met with one of the strangest sights she'd ever seen.

"Ah, a Barcelonan dog!" Jack exclaimed, grinning at the dog.

Jackie blinked, recalling what Jack had said earlier about Barcelonan dogs being noseless.

"Don't get too close, Jackie," the Doctor warned "I think he's a stray. Can't be too sure if he has anything wrong with him."

By now, Rose was craning her neck to see the dog, a small smile forming on her face.

"Looks like a Siberian Husky," Rose noted, a tinge of excitement colouring her voice.

The Doctor grinned, and encouraged the dog over to him so Rose could pet him.

**~StormWolf10~**

A few hours later, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and Jackie were wandering through a market. Rose paused every now and then to look at some of the stalls, but the Doctor could tell that her mind was on the strangers milling around them. She was tense, eyes wide, and she was responding to every little sound.

"You ok, Rose?" the Doctor asked gently.

She nodded, forcing herself to smile.

"Rose?" he repeated, eyebrow raised.

Rose's smile faltered. She knew the Doctor knew she was lying, and she was quite frankly too tired to hide it any longer.

"I…" she began nervously, trailing off and licking her lips "I wanna go back to the TARDIS."

The Doctor nodded quickly, squeezing her hand.

"I wanna have a look in the market for something, would you be alright going back with Jack?" he asked after a moment.

Rose took a deep breath, but nodded. The Doctor squeezed her hand again and called Jack over.

"Jack, can you take Rose back to the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked.

Jack nodded.

"Of course I can," he replied, taking Rose's hand and shielding her from being jostled by passers-by "but why aren't you going back?"

"Oh, I need to look for something," the Doctor answered evasively "and I don't think Jackie's ready to call it a day yet,"

Jack and Rose looked over at Jackie, who was at a nearby stall, examining the jewellery and talking animatedly to the stall owner. Rose smiled slightly.

"I'll see ya later, then?" she asked the Doctor quietly.

He nodded.

"I promise we won't be more than another half hour or so." He assured her gently.

Rose nodded, and allowed Jack to begin steering her through the crowds, back to the TARDIS.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter two. And I also maybe stole an idea in this chapter from my other story 'Organic Farming' :) Read and review!**

"Where's Rose?" Jackie demanded.

"Jack's taken her back to the TARDIS," the Doctor responded as he reached Jackie's side "she was beginning to get a little tense in all the crowd. They only left a minute or so ago."

Jackie frowned slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me she was goin'?" Jackie asked, hands on hips.

The Doctor blinked, unsure how to reply to that. Before he could even form a response, Jackie shook her head, glare softening.

"Sorry, Doctor," she told him quietly "I'm just worried about her."

"You and I both," the Doctor murmured.

He wasn't sure if Jackie had heard him or not, but if she had, she made no comment on it. Instead, she turned back to the jewellery stand.

"I was thinking of getting Rose somethin'," she announced, nodding at the jewellery "to try and cheer her up."

The Doctor nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing," the Doctor admitted quietly "it's why I sent her back with Jack instead of taking her myself."

Jackie watched the Doctor carefully for a few moments before speaking again.

"I think she might be ready, Doctor," Jackie told him gently.

The Doctor's head snapped up, watching her, brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"I think she's ready to hear how you feel about her."

The Doctor swallowed hard, remembering the last time he'd tried to tell Rose how he felt about her, just after they'd rescued her from the Master.

"It won't be like that this time, Doctor," Jackie continued softly, squeezing his arm reassuringly "she's gotten a lot better since then."

"But what if she hasn't?" the Doctor asked quietly "What if I make it worse again?"

Jackie opened her mouth to reply, but faltered. As the Doctor looked sadly at her, Jackie realised the reason she couldn't reply; she had no answer.

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose hovered nervously by the TARDIS doors as Jack fumbled with his key, unlocking the door. Almost as soon as he'd turned the key in the lock, Jack found himself being pushed out of the way by Rose as she darted inside. Sighing, he quickly followed, shutting the door firmly behind him. Rose was breathing heavily, and had a slightly wild look in her eyes that suggested to Jack that she was on the edge of another breakdown. He knew then that he had to approach the situation carefully, not wanting to trigger Rose.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Rose looked at him, eyes wide as she plastered on a false smile, and nodded with far too much conviction to be honest.

"I'm absolutely fine," she announced chirpily, the tone too bright and forced "I think I'll go have a bath, though. Can you let the Doctor and Mum know?"

"Yeah," Jack replied calmly, smiling reassuringly as Rose headed into the depths of the TARDIS.

As soon as Rose was out of sight, Jack sunk onto the captains chair, head in his hands. He was beginning to think that the Doctor's idea to bring Rose here had been nothing but bad. It was clear Rose wasn't coping as well as they'd hoped.

**~StormWolf10~**

The Doctor swallowed as he followed Jackie from jewellery stall to jewellery stall. He was really beginning to regret agreeing to this, but Jackie was a tough woman to argue with. She had already selected a lovely silver necklace to give to Rose, but they were looking for something a lot more…special for the Doctor to give her. Of course, the Doctor had his own idea of what he was looking for, but he wasn't going to blurt it out to Jackie. Instead, he kept quiet and scanned the stalls.

"Seen anything yet?" Jackie called to him over his shoulder.

The Doctor made a small noise in the back of his throat, too busy looking at the jewellery to offer up a proper reply.

"Doctor?" Jackie repeated, turning round and glaring at him.

"Not yet." He admitted "They're all so…Formal. Or, informal, I suppose."

Jackie rolled her eyes.

"You're looking for an engagement ring! It's meant to be formal!" she snapped.

The Doctor's head snapped up at that.

"Forever ring." He corrected.

Jackie blinked.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

The Doctor blushed and ducked his head again.

"Forever ring, Promise ring, whatever you want to call it," he told her "but not engagement ring. I don't want Rose to feel like I'm pressuring her into getting better too fast."

Before Jackie could form an answer, the Doctor was striding off towards another jewellery stall.

**~StormWolf10~**

When the Doctor and Jackie finally returned to the TARDIS, it was getting dark. The small, blue velvet ring box seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket. As they entered the TARDIS, they were greeted by a nervous-looking Rose sat on the chair.

"You said you'd only be half an hour," Rose told the Doctor quietly as he hurried to her side.

"I know," the Doctor apologised softly "and I'm really sorry but it took longer than I expected to track down what I needed."

Rose looked sceptical, but suddenly yawned.

"Come on, you," the Doctor announced with a smile "you need to sleep."

Rose sighed, but allowed the Doctor to guide her out of the control room.

"Night, Mum," Rose called over her shoulder tiredly.

"Night, love," Jackie called back, a small smile on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Any eagle-eyed Chameleon Circuit fans will notice some paraphrased song lyrics from their song 'Kiss the Girl'. Also, I own nothing :)**

The Doctor lay in bed, watching as Rose slept beside him. She seemed quite peaceful, a sharp contrast to just an hour before, where she'd woken, screaming, from a horrible nightmare. He'd been there to calm her, of course, but it made his hearts break as he listened to her sob. He tried to reassure himself that Rose wasn't having as many nightmares now, and that could only mean improvement. However, the Doctor still wasn't certain that Rose had healed enough that he could actually stand to hear him say those three little words that meant so much. Sighing, the Doctor rolled over onto his back, staring at the darkened ceiling. He risked a glance back over at Rose's sleeping form, just to check that she was indeed sleeping soundly, and he noticed the gleam of the TARDIS key on its chain around her neck. The Doctor couldn't help but grin. Rose had only just recently began wearing it again, and although the Doctor had never said anything to her, he'd been delighted about it. Rose was his dream girl, the Doctor mused, and she had the key to his hearts and home hanging on a chain around her neck. He'd never dream in a million years that Rose would pick him. What did he have to offer her? So he had a ship that could travel in time and space, which was it. He couldn't offer her the domestic life she'd dreamt of when she was younger, he wasn't sure if they could have kids, they'd never live in a little house in the countryside, or work a nine-to-five office job.

_Oh, stop beating yourself up, my thief._

The Doctor glared up at the TARDIS.

"Quit listening in on my thoughts!" he scolded his ship.

_Quit projecting your thoughts then, _the TARDIS thought back.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Were you butting in to say anything useful, or just to annoy me?" he asked tiredly.

_I was butting in to tell you, Theta, _the TARDIS replied, with an air of annoyance in the tone _that my wolf cub loves you with all her heart._

"Wolf cub?" the Doctor echoed, brow furrowing slightly.

_Yes, _the TARDIS hummed in his mind _Rose is the Bad Wolf. She unleashed that power by looking into my heart. She became the Bad Wolf through me, therefore, she is my wolf cub._

The Doctor snorted slightly at that.

_Don't laugh, my thief. You are both mine. I know you both well, and I know your hearts. You both love each other, but are both afraid of rejection. You, my thief, are afraid that she'll reject you and you will be alone again. Rose is scared that you'll reject her, just like she was rejected by the parallel Pete Tyler. You are both scared that the other will walk away from you._

The Doctor blinked, unsure what to say to that.

"Right, first of all," the Doctor started, stopping quickly as Rose stirred and frowned in her sleep. He quickly switched to talking to the TARDIS telepathically.

_First of all, _the Doctor continued mentally _stop calling me your thief!_

_But you are my thief! _The TARDIS replied, something akin to humour filling the Doctor's mind.

_I was going to take you back! _The Doctor protested, brow furrowing.

_And yet nine hundred years later, here we are still._ The TARDIS answered quickly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes again, and the TARDIS' humour died down again.

_Doctor, _the TARDIS soothed _you are meant to be with Rose. The Oncoming Storm and the Bad Wolf, together. As I said, my wolf cub loves you. She has always loved you, she will always love you._

_Yeah? _The Doctor queried uncertainly.

_Yes, my Doctor. Always._

The Doctor let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

_But when do I tell her? How do I tell her? _He asked his ship desperately _I need to tell her how I feel._

_It does not matter how and when, my Doctor. Rose loves you, and she will be happy to hear you speak those three words, no matter how you voice them. _

The Doctor swallowed, tears welling in his eyes. He smiled up at the ceiling.

"Thanks." He murmured to his ship softly.

The TARDIS hummed happily in response.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, got swamped with college work. Hoping to get this story finished in the next few days.**

"Mum," Rose began nervously "have you noticed the Doctor acting…_differently_ recently?"

Jackie blinked, watching her daughter carefully. Of course, she knew all about the 'forever ring' the Doctor had bought for Rose, but he had yet to give it to her. Not wanting to spoil the upcoming surprise, Jackie merely shrugged.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Jackie replied, feigning ignorance "he always seems to act differently to me."

Rose frowned slightly, deep in thought for a few moments. Then, her eyes widened in fear.

"Oh, god! What if we're in trouble?! What if there's something happening here, and he hasn't told us?! Maybe that's why he insisted on us two staying here while he and Jack went to the market for food!"

By this point, Rose was becoming hysterical, and was trembling.

"Rose, love, I'm sure there's nothing wrong. The Doctor would have taken us away from here if we were in danger. He probably only suggested we stay here while they get food because you didn't sleep very well last night. He probably thought you'd like the rest." Jackie soothed her daughter gently.

They'd been on Barcelona for several days now, and the night before Rose had been unable to sleep, convinced she'd seen Captain Hart in the crowds at the market. Jack had chased after the man only to find that it was an unsuspecting tourist who, in fact, looked nothing like Hart close-up. However, it had scared Rose a lot, and she'd had a nightmare about Captain Hart coming back and taking her from the Doctor. She'd woken in a cold sweat, crying out, and had spent much of the rest of the night cuddled up with the Doctor and her Mum in the TARDIS library as they tried to calm her. Now, however, Jackie's words were doing little to comfort her.

"Are you _sure_ we're not in any danger? The Doctor's been so…secretive the past few days." Rose told her Mother nervously.

"There's nothing to worry about. You know the Doctor and Jack will do anything to protect you, nothing's going to hurt you. How about we go and watch some TV?" Jackie suggested carefully.

**~StormWolf10~**

However, almost an hour later in the TARDIS' TV room, Jackie could tell her daughter was far too worried and distracted to pay attention to the alien soap they were watching.

"Rose, just calm down. I'm sure the Doctor and Jack will be back soon." Jackie assured her daughter, pulling her closer to her.

"But it's been hours, Mum!" Rose protested, wide-eyed.

"It has, but you know what the Doctor can be like. Probably ran off trying to find some weird alien gadget for the TARDIS, or something. That or he's trying to find some bananas."

Rose let out a watery chuckle at that, taking a deep breath and nodding as she tried to calm herself down.

"Just you wait, sweetheart. They'll come traipsing back in with a load of shopping bags and the Doctor will be complaining about the lack of bananas on this planet, or something." Jackie told her daughter, returning her attention to the TV.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Second-to-last chapter, please read and review :)**

"Doctor?" Jack prompted.

"Huh?" the Doctor asked, snapping out of his thoughts to look at the ex-Time Agent.

"Are you gonna pay for this food?" Jack hinted, nodding towards the irate stallholder.

"Oh!" the Doctor realised, eyes going wide as he remembered he and Jack were meant to be doing the grocery shopping "Oh, yes, yes."

Jack rolled his eyes as the Doctor began digging through his pockets for some Barcelonan money. Several items fell out of his pocket, and Jack quickly bent to pick them up for his friend, sliding them into the shopping bags they'd gotten from the other stalls they'd visited. Finally, the Doctor found the right money and handed it to the stallholder, grinning. Jack, meanwhile, was still crouched on the floor, gaping at the item in his hands. Glancing up at the Doctor, who was happily accepting the bag of groceries from the stallholder, Jack slid the ring box into his trouser pocket and straightened up.

"Anything else we need?" Jack asked "We _have_ been gone hours, Rose is probably getting worried."

The Doctor glanced in the shopping bag he was holding before looking over the bags Jack was holding. His face then broke into a grin.

"Just one more thing." He told Jack, beaming "Bananas!"

**~StormWolf10~**

"Where've you two been?"

"I'm sorry, Jackie. I wasn't aware Jack and I had a curfew." The Doctor answered, edging round Jackie, who was stood with her hands on her hips in front of the TARDIS console.

"Where's Rose?" Jack asked as he struggled up the ramp with several shopping bags, making to follow the Doctor to the TARDIS kitchen.

Jackie opened her mouth to respond, but Rose suddenly came barrelling out of the corridor, colliding with the Doctor as she hugged him tight.

"You've been hours!" Rose complained "I thought something had happened!" She then drew away to look the Doctor in the eye "Nothing's happened, right? I mean, we're not in danger? Nothing's gone wrong?"

"Rose, everything's fine," the Doctor assured her quickly, dropping his shopping bag to pull Rose in for a hug.

He then winced as there was a crack, and the four occupants in the room all looked down at the bag the Doctor had dropped.

"That'll be the eggs." He murmured, grimacing.

Jackie sighed, and moved to pick up the bag, grimacing as some of the egg yolk dripped through the bag.

"I guess we're not having eggy bread then." Jack asked, forlorn.

**~StormWolf10~**

The next day, Jack was awake late, and he could only find the Doctor in the TARDIS.

"Where's Rose and Jackie?" Jack asked in confusion as he entered the TARDIS kitchen.

"Jackie managed to persuade Rose to accompany her shopping." The Doctor replied from where he was sat at the breakfast table.

Jack nodded, moving round the kitchen with ease as he made himself some breakfast. Once that was done, he dropped into the seat opposite the table and slid the ring box the Doctor had dropped the previous day across the table.

"W- Where did you get that?" the Doctor asked, eyes growing wide.

"Fell out of your pocket at the market yesterday." Jack replied, taking a sip of the strong coffee he liked to drink every morning.

"Did you…" the Doctor trailed off, looking at Jack carefully.

"Did I look?" Jack guessed, causing the Doctor to nod "Yes I did." He admitted.

The Doctor looked at him for a few moments before slowly reaching for the ring box and picking it up.

"She'll love it, Doctor." Jack assured his friend gently.

The Doctor smiled weakly.

"That's not the problem, Jack." The Doctor told him quietly.

"Then what _is_ the problem?" Jack prompted, frowning.

"How do I know she's ready to hear me say it, Jack?" the Doctor asked, expression pained.

"She is, Doc. She just is." Jack answered.

The Doctor sighed.

"That's what Jackie said too." He murmured.

Jack's blue eyes widened.

"Jackie?" Jack repeated, letting out a low whistle when the Doctor nodded "If that's not a signal to tell Rose how you feel, then I don't know what is! I mean, come on, Doc. We both know Jackie is protective of Rose, and if she's prompting you to admit your feelings to Rose, then…"

Jack trailed off, looking at the Doctor pointedly. The Doctor sighed, knowing his friend was right.

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose gripped her Mum's hand tight as they made their way through the market crowds. Jackie had been rather insistent about getting Rose out of the TARDIS, and Rose knew that her Mother had been right to do so; she couldn't hide away in the TARDIS forever, no matter how big it was. That didn't, however, ease Rose's fears, and she was constantly looking around, her grip on Jackie's hand tight in case someone tried to steal her away.

"Ooh, how about this, Rose?" Jackie asked her daughter, dragging her eagerly towards a jewellery stand.

Rose hummed slightly, attempting to look interested and failing miserably. Jackie's face fell, and she sighed, tugging her daughter in for a hug.

"Do you wanna go back to the TARDIS, sweetheart?" Jackie asked gently.

Rose forced a smile and shook her head.

"No. No, I'm fine Mum." She replied, hoping Jackie didn't notice the slight tremor in her voice "Like you said, I need to get out. The fresh air will do me good."

Jackie smiled weakly at her daughter, and returned her attention to the jewellery stand. She rubbed her thumb reassuringly over Rose's knuckles, trying to soothe her as they were jostled by the Barcelonan crowds. Rose forced herself to step closer to her Mum and look at the jewellery her Mum was currently surveying.

"They look nice." Rose managed quietly, looking at her Mum.

Jackie looked over at Rose, slightly shocked to hear her talking. She just smiled in response.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Final-ever chapter :) Read and Review XD**

"Where's Rose?" The Doctor asked as he entered the TARDIS library, a grin on his face.

"In her room." Jackie answered "Why are you looking so smug?"

"Smug?" the Doctor asked, brow furrowing "I don't look smug!"

"Yes you do." Jackie replied, turning to look at him better "Why do you look so smug? Have you given her the ring?"

"How could I have given her the ring? She's been out shopping with you all morning!" the Doctor pointed out incredulously.

"Just asking." Jackie sniffed. "Why _are_ you looking so smug?"

"If you must know, I got Rose a present." The Doctor answered.

"I know, Doctor, you bought her that ring. I was with you." Jackie replied.

"Not the ring. Another present."

Jackie frowned, dropping her gossip magazine onto the sofa as she looked up at the Time Lord quizzically. With a flourish, the Doctor stepped to one side, revealing something small. Jackie's eyes widened when she realised what it was.

"You bought her a puppy!" Jackie realised, looking at the puppy, who was sat by the Doctor.

"A noseless Barcelonan puppy!" the Doctor replied with a grin "I thought Rose would like one. I mean, she really liked the one we met on the first day here, and I thought it might…Well, help her."

His smile faltered at this, and he looked unsure. Jackie looked at the puppy again.

"Looks like a Siberian Husky puppy." Jackie said suddenly, before looking at the Doctor was a soft smile "Rose always wanted a Siberian Husky."

**~StormWolf10~**

The Doctor stood nervously outside Rose's bedroom door, fist raised, about to knock. Taking a deep breath, he knocked twice on the door before opening it.

"Rose?" he asked, sticking his head round the door.

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up.

She was lying on her bed, reading a book, but she sat up when the Doctor entered the room.

"I, uh, I got you a present." The Doctor explained nervously, smiling weakly as he shielded Rose's view from the puppy.

Rose moved to sit on the edge of the bed expectantly, smiling, and the Doctor grinned back. However, as he moved to pick up the puppy, it dashed past him, barking and running straight from Rose. It jumped up onto the bed and sat beside Rose, panting. Rose broke into a wide grin.

"You got me a puppy?" she asked, reaching out to scratch the puppy's head.

"Yep." The Doctor told her with a grin, heading over to kneel in front of Rose as she began playing with the puppy. "You like him?"

"Yeah!" Rose replied, still grinning.

She quickly moved to hug him, but pulled away when the puppy began barking again. As the puppy regained her attention, the Doctor reached into his pocket, fingering the ring box.

"I've got something else for you, Rose." He told her quietly, and Rose made a small noise to show she was listening.

Taking a deep breath, he took the ring box from his pocket, watching Rose carefully as she looked over at him and saw it. Her eyes went wide.

"I'm not proposing, Rose." He told her with a slight smile "At least, not yet. This is a…A _forever ring_, if you will. To…To show that I'm yours. Forever. Or, well, as long as you want me…"

He trailed off as he noticed that Rose was just staring at him. He'd already opened the ring box, but she was looking at him and not the ring, and the Doctor suddenly had the horrible feeling he'd made a huge mistake. Feeling incredibly stupid, he suddenly got to his feet, throwing the ring onto the bed, only for the puppy to go and sniff it.

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have listened to your Mother and Jack! I should have taken things in my own time, I know we're moving too fast for you. I don't want to push you into anything, Rose, I really don't, and I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm scared too, sometimes I lay in bed wondering how anything can ever go back to normal for us, after everything that's happened…I can't even work out why you'd pick me, I mean, all the people who've died for me, and yet you insisted you needed me to help you through this…" the Doctor told her, pacing the room.

Suddenly, Rose was beside him, trying to stop him from pacing.

"Doctor," she tried, but the Doctor ignored her, continuing his rant.

" Sometimes I wonder if you'll ever be ready to hear me say that I love you, and I don't hate you for it, I could never hate you. I just… I don't want to hurt you. I love you so, so much, Rose, and I would rather regenerate a thousand times than hurt you…"

The Doctor finally stopped his rant, breathing heavily and wide-eyed as he realised he'd said far too much. He was face to face with Rose, and he knew that, any minute now, she would bolt across the room. However, Rose merely blinked, watching him. They remained in silence, staring at each other for several long moments before she moved. However, it was not away from him, like the Doctor had expected, but _to_ him. Nervously, she stretched up and kissed him gently on the lips. The kiss was over far too soon for the Doctor's liking, but it at least meant that Rose was healing now. It may not have been much, but it was something.


End file.
